Satisfy Your Wanderlust Without Traveling: Amazing Virtual Tours to Bring You Around the World for FREE

Xue Miao

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08 Jul 2020

While flights have recently resumed its operations, it is still not safe for us to explore the world yet.

Some of us had to (tearfully) cancel our travel plans (thank god for travel insurance!), with no new plans in sight.

But a couple of us have been dying to scratch that wanderlust itch.

Though we are unable to hop on the plane just yet, we are fortunate to have technology with us today.

We now have virtual tours ranging from museum exhibitions to national parks, or even fake flights just to allow you to feel like you’re traveling once again.

With many destinations offering amazing digital tours for you to visit right at home, you might even find somewhere new which might inspire you to visit it later in real life.

TL;DR: Satisfy Your Wanderlust Without Traveling: Amazing Virtual Tours to Bring You Around the World

U.S. National Parks

Google has teamed up with five U.S. National Parks to bring about amazing views along with wonderful narration, allowing us to have the luxury of touring the lands along with a tour guide.

The selection of parks is AMAZING.

The visuals are AMAZING TOO.

These tours allow you to experience the different wonders of nature, including:

Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

Explore glaciers, fjords, and icebergs located in the Alaskan wilderness

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

Explore the Nahuku Lava Tube, a cave formed by flowing lava, volcanic coastal cliffs, check out an active volcano, and see the effects of an eruption from 1959

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

Explore this park with more than 100 caves, check out beautiful rock formations, or even “experience” life as a bat

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Enjoy a star-filled night sky, or take a horseback ride through the canyon

Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida

Usually only accessible only by seaplane or boat, get to swim through the third largest coral reef in the world, or take an exploratory dive into a shipwreck from 1907

Never thought I could be brought to these works of art just with a click of my mouse.

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL.

Stargazing at the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon National Park and the Grand Canyon Conservancy hosted a virtual stargazing party from 13 – 20 June 2020, as this on-site event was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

This event hosted virtual telescope sessions, where astronomers joined in and shared their knowledge on the celestial objects seen through their video cameras.

While the stargazing party is already over, interested stargazers can still find these sessions on their official website, along with the presentations done by guest speakers.

Virtual Tour Around Israel

Israel is a beautiful country that I have yet to visit.

Fortunately for me, there are a few companies that have brought their A-game in bringing the Israeli experience to us.

Sygic Travel VR created a 360-degree virtual tour of Jerusalem’s Old City, which is one of the world’s foremost pilgrimage destinations.

I love how it comes with a narrator whispering the history of this city into my ears, along with fitting background music.

Virtually Israel has also created an entire series of 360-degree videos which brings about different experiences, including museums, beaches and even a balloon ride at Tel Aviv.

Virtual Tour Around Greece

An initiative by the Greek Tourism Ministry, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), and Marketing Greece, Greece From Home aims to create the Greek experience for tourists through different sights and scenes.

You can now visit famous sites such as the sacred rock of the Acropolis, or the Shipwreck beach in Zakynthos.

On their Greek Creator Youtube channel, we get to take a peek into the intimate lives of different professionals, such as archaeological experts, sculptors, and Paralympic swimmers.

Get to experience Greek-inspired music, mythology, cuisine, arts, fashion, and sport all in one place.

The Vatican, Rome

If you’re one who enjoys spectacular architecture and historic monuments, be prepared to be wowed by this virtual experience by Musei Vaticani (translation: Vatican Museums)

Walk through the spaces of Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s Rooms, and get to marvel at the type of art and galleries you could usually see in the movies.

Felt like I was in the movie set of Da Vinci Code while I roamed through the halls.

Hella cool.

Walking Tour in Japan

I was recently chatting with some friends and they told me how they can’t wait to back in the arms of this wonderful country.

For now, we have this 360-degree walking tour done by the Japan National Tourism Organization which brings us through the familiar streets like the Tokyo Tower, Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the Sagano Bamboo Forest.

Sugoi. (Translation: Incredible in Japanese)